WASHINGTON – American Indians would have better access to health care services, including screening and mental-health programs, under legislation the Senate passed yesterday.

The bill, approved 83-10, would bolster programs at the federally funded Indian Health Service, prompt new construction and modernization of health clinics on reservations, and try to recruit more Indians into health professions. It also would boost tribal access to Medicare and Medicaid.

The legislation would authorize spending about $35 billion for Indian health care programs over the next 10 years. Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., called it a first step in addressing a crisis in American Indian health care. The system is underfunded and inefficient, he said.

American Indians suffer much higher death rates of most leading causes than the rest of the country. Alcoholism, drug use, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and suicide rates are especially high.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said American Indians have access “to some of the least adequate health care in America.”

“Far too many native children are diagnosed with diabetes, suffer from abuse and neglect, or die prematurely because of accidents or illness that could be prevented or cured,” Reid said.

Similar legislation cleared the House Natural Resources Committee and a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee last year. It still must be approved by the full energy panel and the House Ways and Means Committee before it heads to the House floor.

The Senate bill also contains a resolution sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., that formally apologizes to American Indians for centuries of government mistreatment. The resolution acknowledges a long history of government misconduct against Indians, including forced relocation from tribal lands, theft of tribal assets and the breaking of treaties.